Scouting Report: Watauga vs. East Burke

On Tuesday January 13 two 4A conference rivals took the court in Boone, NC and featured some stellar play from both teams. Watauga came out on top with an 80-74 win at home.

Cody Shuffler– (SF, 6’6’’, 2009) Kept East Burke in the game with his solid post play. Shuffler has the height of a SF but has the overall body mass and strength of a PF. Very strong, powerful lower body. He was forced to play C or PF the entire game because the lack of interior size that East Burke possessed but still demonstrated his skill set well. On a night when Shuffler’s mid range shot was off, he still showed great touch around the basket as well as good form and lift on his jumpshot. Shuffler has a definitive go to move to get around defenders on the low block, spinning baseline on the right side several times to score. He showed good defensive presence by blocking or changing many shots in the paint. Shuffler was able to score 29 points even on an off shooting night to lead his team. To play his true position of SF Shuffler needs to improve his ability to guard on the perimeter as well as his ball handling.

Josh Debro– (SG, 6’4’’, 2010) A rangy, athletic defender for East Burke caused havoc for Watauga’s players all night. In a press defensive scheme Debro shined; usually playing the middle in the defensive setup and came up with four steals in the second half alone. Debro showed great recovery speed and covered the whole floor on defense coming up with several come from behind blocks and deflections. A great offensive rebounder coming from the weak side. Debro finished with 7 points, 5 steals, and 8 or 9 rebounds. Debro still has another year to improve his shooting ability but has some great potential as a shooting guard.

Jeff Newell– (PF, 6’6’’, 2009) was the driving force for Watauga. The undersized PF/C showcased that he may have the ability to play SF on the next level with his bevy of finesse post moves and overall range on his shot. At one point Newell hit back-to-back three pointers and a one dribble pull up from 15 feet to demonstrating his shooting touch. Has good timing on his jumps, which helps make up for his lack of size (weighs 185) on rebounding. Had some trouble guarding the much heftier Shuffler on the low block but did show good footwork and quick hands on defense. Newell is calm when handling the ball some on the perimeter but seems uncomfortable when forced to defend on the perimeter. Shot very well for the entire game and finished with 31 points. Needs to bulk up and work on perimeter defense.